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Journalism organizations ask White House for commitment to openness

ASNE Legal Counsel Kevin Goldberg was one of five representatives of national journalism organizations that met with White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest on Tuesday to discuss various concerns surrounding journalists' ability to gather news when covering the federal government. Goldberg joined representatives of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Society of Environmental Journalists at the meeting.

ASNE Legal Counsel Kevin Goldberg was one of five representatives of national journalism organizations that met with White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest on Tuesday to discuss various concerns surrounding journalists' ability to gather news when covering the federal government. Goldberg joined representatives of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Society of Environmental Journalists at the meeting.

Here are the first few paragraphs of the press release issued by SPJ after the meeting, which explains the impetus for the meeting, the issues discussed and the desired next steps in more detail:

Washington, D.C. -- A delegation representing more than 50 journalism and open government organizations met with Josh Earnest, President Obama's press secretary, today at the White House, urging greater openness and transparency from the federal government.

Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) and the legal counsel for the American Society of News Editors (ASNE) met with Earnest for about an hour to discuss communications policies, the use of Public Information Officers (PIOs) during interviews, anonymous background briefings, prohibitions against staff members speaking to reporters without notifying PIOs and other policies that prevent information from flowing to the public.

"We asked that the president renew his commitment to transparency in government. The goal of this meeting is to try to bring about a culture change that has pervaded government for several decades," said SPJ President Paul Fletcher. "We further asked for a clear statement that government employees are free to speak without interference to members of the press and public. Current policies, we believe, undermine democracy and public trust in our government. We asked for the Obama Administration to reverse that trend."

"This Administration isn't just committed to the principle of transparency, we've committed to engaging advocates and journalists to discuss legitimate ideas that advance it. We look forward to continuing this conversation," Earnest said.